The first decision made for the Germany U21s has come two days ahead of their outing against the Czech Republic on Sunday (18:00 CEST): Julian Pollersbeck will go into the tournament as the starting goalkeeper. DFB Goalkeeper coach Klaus Thomforde informed DFB.de of the decision ahead of Friday evening’s training session. In addition, striker Davie Selke comments on the atmosphere within the team.
KLAUS THOMFORDE ON…
… CHOOSING THE STARTER: We’re privileged to have three very strong goalkeepers travel here with us, and each one of them has performed superbly. We have to make a decision, and they haven’t made it easy for us. It was a head-to-head race, but the decision has gone in favour of Julian Pollersbeck and now we’ll do everything we can to get behind him.
… THE REASONS: We evaluated a lot of criteria, like how they defended space, their ability to stop shots, and what they had to offer offensively. We’ve watched the boys throughout the whole season, and it’s my job to analyse their performances. I discussed the results with the coaching staff and we made a decision collectively.
… JULIAN POLLERSBECK’S STRENGTHS: Julian is very strong in space and at stopping shots. He has huge potential for the future and for that reason we decided to go into the tournament with him as the starter. Of course he’s not mistake-free, but what goalkeeper is?
… THE REACTION OF THE OTHER GOALKEEPERS: All three reacted very professionally to the news. They’re very mature for their age. Of course the others aren’t overjoyed, and that’s normal. Everybody wants to be the number one, and we expect no less.
DAVIE SELKE ON…
… PREPATIONS FOR THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP: We had a great qualifying campaign and have prepared excellently for the tournament. Training sessions have been more focused since we’ve been in Poland. We’ll do everything in our power to play a good tournament, but we know that it’ll be very difficult.
… THE ATMOSPHERE WITHIN THE TEAM: I’m keen. We’re all keen, and in training there’s a fantastic atmosphere. Everyone wants to play. The manager has some tough decisions ahead of him, and we all know what value the tournament holds.
… THE MOOD: It’s always in a tournament like this to get off to a good start. We’re all in a mood to be ruthless. We can’t allow any mistakes. We have to be focused from the opening day, and have our heads in the game from the first minute. We’re all really looking forward to the start of the tournament, and that’s the mood in training.
… THE PARALLELS TO THE U19 TEAM THAT WON THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP: We still know how good an experience that was. We had a great team with good chemistry. We’ve got the same here, but the quality of our opponents has improved – there are great teams here with us. However, we’ve also improved in terms of quality. The tournament will be a tough one.
… THE CZECH OPPONENTS: First and foremost we’re focused on ourselves. We want to play to our strengths out there on the field. We’ll prepare a thing or two specifically for the Czechs. However, it’s good when we play game-to-game, like we did in the qualifying round. We want to win every game. We know that it’ll be very difficult.
… HIS TRANSFER TO HERTHA: It 100% gave me a boost. It was important that the matter was concluded so that I can be 100% present with the U21s here. It was good for me and that’s how I feel.
The first decision made for the Germany U21s has come two days ahead of their outing against the Czech Republic on Sunday (18:00 CEST): Julian Pollersbeck will go into the tournament as the starting goalkeeper. DFB Goalkeeper coach Klaus Thomforde informed DFB.de of the decision ahead of Friday evening’s training session. In addition, striker Davie Selke comments on the atmosphere within the team.
KLAUS THOMFORDE ON…
… CHOOSING THE STARTER: We’re privileged to have three very strong goalkeepers travel here with us, and each one of them has performed superbly. We have to make a decision, and they haven’t made it easy for us. It was a head-to-head race, but the decision has gone in favour of Julian Pollersbeck and now we’ll do everything we can to get behind him.
… THE REASONS: We evaluated a lot of criteria, like how they defended space, their ability to stop shots, and what they had to offer offensively. We’ve watched the boys throughout the whole season, and it’s my job to analyse their performances. I discussed the results with the coaching staff and we made a decision collectively.
… JULIAN POLLERSBECK’S STRENGTHS: Julian is very strong in space and at stopping shots. He has huge potential for the future and for that reason we decided to go into the tournament with him as the starter. Of course he’s not mistake-free, but what goalkeeper is?
… THE REACTION OF THE OTHER GOALKEEPERS: All three reacted very professionally to the news. They’re very mature for their age. Of course the others aren’t overjoyed, and that’s normal. Everybody wants to be the number one, and we expect no less.
DAVIE SELKE ON…
… PREPATIONS FOR THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP: We had a great qualifying campaign and have prepared excellently for the tournament. Training sessions have been more focused since we’ve been in Poland. We’ll do everything in our power to play a good tournament, but we know that it’ll be very difficult.
… THE ATMOSPHERE WITHIN THE TEAM: I’m keen. We’re all keen, and in training there’s a fantastic atmosphere. Everyone wants to play. The manager has some tough decisions ahead of him, and we all know what value the tournament holds.
… THE MOOD: It’s always in a tournament like this to get off to a good start. We’re all in a mood to be ruthless. We can’t allow any mistakes. We have to be focused from the opening day, and have our heads in the game from the first minute. We’re all really looking forward to the start of the tournament, and that’s the mood in training.
… THE PARALLELS TO THE U19 TEAM THAT WON THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP: We still know how good an experience that was. We had a great team with good chemistry. We’ve got the same here, but the quality of our opponents has improved – there are great teams here with us. However, we’ve also improved in terms of quality. The tournament will be a tough one.
… THE CZECH OPPONENTS: First and foremost we’re focused on ourselves. We want to play to our strengths out there on the field. We’ll prepare a thing or two specifically for the Czechs. However, it’s good when we play game-to-game, like we did in the qualifying round. We want to win every game. We know that it’ll be very difficult.
… HIS TRANSFER TO HERTHA: It 100% gave me a boost. It was important that the matter was concluded so that I can be 100% present with the U21s here. It was good for me and that’s how I feel.
